The flood in River Krishna at Prakasam barrage here and at the half constructed K.L. Rao Sagar project at Pulichintala receded on Wednesday with the reduction of discharge from Nagarjuna Sagar Project and rivulets that join the river.

But in a high drama of sorts a man who fell asleep in the sand dunes of an island downstream of Prakasam Barrage and got marooned with the release of surplus water was rescued by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel under the supervision of Revenue officials.

Battula Durga Prasad, 18, found himself stranded on an island when he woke up in the morning. Prasad confided to the officials he had gone to sleep on the sand in an inebriated state.

When he woke up in the morning he found that he was stranded. People of Tarakaramanagar, Ranigarithota, noticed him when he raised an alarm and informed the revenue authorities.

The Revenue authorities in turn alerted the NDRF battalion at Mangalagiri.

The current in the river was too strong to be negotiated even by speed boats.

The NDRF personnel crossed the river water in their high speed rubber dingy and rescued the youth.

Pulichintala Project Section Engineer Nagaraju told The Hindu that the water at dam site had receded by a foot with the level falling to 40.20 metres from the river bed.

The engineer said he expected the situation to continue like this for at least one week.

The surplus at Prakasam barrage fell to 2.16 lakh cusecs on Wednesday from the 2.92 lakhs cusecs registered on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) evacuated 539 persons from different low-lying areas along the river bank and shifted them to seven relief camps established at various places.

The highest number of 270 adults and 30 children, who have been evacuated from Bhupesh Gupta Nagar, and Ranigarithota, are lodged in the ODA community hall.

Another 87 adults and 20 children, who were evacuated from areas close to Ramalingeswaranagar 10 MGD plant, have been lodged in the Patamata Lanka municipal school.

Slideshow

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) organised a mock demonstration on ways to rescue people drowning in River Krishna in the presence of its Director General O.P. Singh at Seethanagaram in Guntur District on Tuesday. The Hindu photographer V. Raju captures the action.